Emergency-knuckle for car-couplings.



I No. 818,369. I PATENTED APRJ 17 1906.

"G. H. GILMAN & J. H. BROWN. I EMERGENCY KNUCKLE FOR OAR COUPLINGS'APPLICATION FILED MAILM. 1904.

a c3 a knuckle UNITED srA Es PATENT oEEIoE.

GEORGE H. GILMAN, or ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, 'AND'JAMES H.

BROWN,

or sourn TACOMA, WASHINGTON.

- EMERGENCY-KNUCKLE FOR CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 17, 1906.

Qouplers and we-declare the following to be r a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, .such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.Our invention relates in general to carcouplers, and more particular; toan emergency-knuckle adapted to rep ace a brokenknuckle of any patternof Master Car-Builders coupler. 7

It fre uently' happens that a couplerreaks, and as a large variety ofMaster Car-Builders couplers are now in use,

each of which re uires a special form of knuckle, considera leinconvenience results, owing to .the impossibility of having at handduplicates of all the various patterns. of

knuckles. When a knuckle breaks, it is usual.

to connect the broken coupler with the coupler on the adjoining car bymeans of a link and pins, which necessitates the brakeman going betweenthe car to make the coupling. and also results in too much slackbetweenthe coupled cars.

' The primary object of our invention is to provide anemergency'coupler-knuckle so contructed that it may be pivotallyconnected to any of the various designs of Master Car-Builders couplers andWill automatically interlock with any pattern of knuckle.

A further object of our invention is to provide an emergency carcouplerknuckle for replacing a broken knuckle of any Master Car-Builders"pattern Which will be simple:

in construction, inexpensive in manufacture, and effici'ent in use.

Our invention, generally described, con-l sists in :a car-couplerknuckle adapted to be (f3 received between the knuckle andfguardg arm ofa cooperating coupler and'havingtthe.

usual s'upportingelug adapted to-be pivoted: between the ears of aMaster CarvBuilders" couplerheadv and T rovided With-a guard memberprojecting om the supporting-lug clearly shown; -,Fig.1f 2.-

- Application filed March 14, 1904;. Serial No. 198,022.

and adapted to, extend around the. vertical surface of the head of thecooperating knuckle.

Our invention will be more fully described hereinafter with reference tothe accompanya ing drawings, in which thesame is shown as.

embodied in a convenient-and practical form, and in which Figure 1indicates a-plan view of a couplerand a cooperating coupler-headprovided with any usual type of knuckle prior to coupling; Fi 2, a viewsimilar to Fig. 1 after the coup ing has been made, and Fig. .3 a per--,spective view of the knuckle detached.

The same reierencecharacters are used to 'nead provided with ourimproved knuckle designate the same parts in the several ures of thedrawings. h

A' and A designate Master Oar-Builders" carcoupler heads of any ordinary-t ;pe which are provided with the usual ears a or pivotally supportingthe knuckles.

a indicates a locking-pin. oi} any'construction for. engaging the tailof the knuckle to retain the same in"inte'rlocked engagement withacooperating coupler? I a designates the usual guard-arm of thecoupler-head. 3"

B desi ates a knuckle provided with a tailpiece and pivotally supportedbetween the ears aiof the coupler-head A Pivoted between the ears doft-he coupler-head A is shown our improved emergency-knuckle, whichcomprises a knuckle-head 0, adapted to be received between-the.knuckle-holed B 1 and guard-Qt-m-af of'a cooperating coupler, a. lug C,adapted tobepivotallysupported betweentheears ai, and a guard member 0.

The guard member is so spaced with respect to the knuckle-head Othat aspace is formed conforming vtog'g-the, knuckle '-head, B -.of thecooperating coupler. The guardlm'ember is curved outwardlyatthe edgethereof oipposite to. the lugjC -is -as-to 'extend iaroun the portionof; theicooperatingrknuckle ad acent its supporting-lug, tlferebysecurely retain ing the emergency-knuckle 'in coupledengagement Wittheicooperating knuckle, as

v c iudicates a reinforcing-web which performs the double func- .'tion'of strengthening the guardmember and also affording aconvenient meansfor hark dlin the knuckle.

T e manner of'using and theoperation of our improvement are as follows:When a knuckle of a Master Car-Builders car-coupler is broken,' the pinA, which pivotally unites the same to the ears a of the couplerhead, isremoved and the broken knuckle detached. Our emergency-knuckle is thenpivotally supported between the cars (13 of the coupler-head byinserting the pivot-pin A through the holes in the ears a and throughthe registering hole 0 in the lug C of the knuckle. The. knuckle of thecoupler on the adjoining car is then thrown open, and the cars arebrought together in the usual manner when the coupling is to beeffected. The coupling portion or head 0 of the emergency knuckleengages the tailpiece of the knuckle B and swings the latter about itspivot, so that the tailpiece is engaged by the lock-pin a and theknuckle retained in its closed position, as shown in Fig. 2. When theknuckle B is swung into its closed osition, the head or coupling portionthereo is received within the space formed in the emergency-knuckle.between the coupling portion C thereefa'nd the guard member 0 Thecoupling effected through the interlocked engagement of one of ouremergency-knuckles with a cooperating knuckle of any Master Car-Builderstype is as secure as though both knuckles were of any of the usualMaster Car-Builders type, and the cars cannot become uncoupled no matterhow short the curve of the track may be, as the emergency-knuckle issecurely re-' "tained between the guard-arm and knuckle of thecooperating coupler and the knucklewof such cooperating coupler isprevented frombecoming disengaged from the emergency knuckle owing toits engagement with the guard member C From the foregoing description itwill be observed that we have invented an improved emergency-knucklewhich may be used to replace a broken knuckle of any of the numerousMaster Oar-Builders patterns and which will automatically interlock witha cooperating coupler and when interlocked will securely unitetheadjoining cars without danger of their becoming uncoupled 18 our improvement the necessity of supplying a train with a stock of duplicateknuckles in suflicient variety to suit the-different classes of couplersnow in use is avoided.

While we ha e described more or less precisely the details ofconstruction, we do not wish to be understood as limiting"ourselvesthereto, as we contemplate changes in form, the proportion of parts, andthe substitution of equivalents as circumstances may-suggest or renderexpedient without departing from the spirit ofoui i'i'ivention.

Having now fully described our invention,

what we claim as new, and desire to secure by "member having aforwardly-extending projection atthe end thereof adapted to extendaround the cooperating knuckle to retain the emergency-knuckle incoupling engagement with the cooperating knuckle; v

2. An emergency car-coupler knuckle coniprisi ig means forpivotally"connecting the same to a coupler-head, a guard member spaced aart from the knuckle head to receive the knuckle-head of a coop"atingcoupler, said guard member havingf curved vertical flan'ge adaptedto extend around the surface of the eo'operating knuckle-head adjacentto its supporting lug.

In testimony whereof we this specification in thepresencc of twowitness'es.

GEORGE H. GILMAN JAMES H. BROWN. Witnesses for Gilman CHAs; HAKANs,

Mi ROBERTSON.

H. W. LUEDERs, SVEA ASBERG.

i forwardly--

